Spelling (spĕl’ĭng) n.
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Whoa . . . just ahead of a 21% cut in physician salaries we have an epic battle shaping up within the physician community. The AMA, long the Godfather and voice of physicians around the country, apparently is feeling the heat from a younger, more svelt upstart from across (cyber)town. I have just received back to back emails from Sermo CEO Daniel Palestrant essentially declaring his succession from the physician union. This comes at a critical time when further fracturing of physician leadership and political strength put in jeopardy the opportunity for the physicians to have a unified voice (or is it because the stakes are so high that this group is compelled to speak up?):
The leading missive from 7/1/09 (might require log in):
Dear Dr. Shreeve,
As physicians, our first step in the healthcare debate needs to be clearing the air about who speaks for us on what topics. Today, I am joining the increasing waves of physicians who believe that the AMA no longer speaks for us. As the founder and CEO of Sermo, this is a considerable change of heart, given the high hopes that I had when we first partnered with the AMA over two years ago. The sad fact is that the AMA membership has now shrunk to the point where the organization should no longer claim that it represents physicians in this country.
The AMA has drawn its power from the support of the physician community. The waning membership reflects our objection as the AMA has failed us consistently for over 50 years. Make no mistake, the debate within the AMA about how to stop their membership decline is not new. What is new is the lengths to which the AMA appears willing to go to deceive the public on this topic. The AMA routinely claims that their membership is 250,000 practicing physicians. At best, this is 25-40% of practicing US physicians and even that claim is based on some stretching of the truth. The 250,000 total includes a number of non-practicing constituencies, including medical students, residents, and subscribers of the AMA’s journals. Paying membership is generally accepted to be far lower. How much lower? Actual numbers are remarkably difficult to come by.
At this critical moment in history, we cannot watch the AMA fail physicians so completely yet again. Nor can we stand by and let false perceptions about who speaks for physicians persist. At the very least, all parties should understand the intrinsic conflicts of interest that are in play, and the AMA should be held accountable to these truths. Better yet, physicians should call for sweeping changes within the AMA. In the best-case scenario, the AMA will shed its relationships with insurers and abandon tactics that take advantage of physicans to generate millions of dollars in revenue. It is an inherent conflict of interest to claim advocacy for physicians while profiting from a reimbursement system that makes it increasingly difficult for physicians to practice medicine.
The flight from the AMA signals that physicians don’t believe the AMA is willing to make these changes. The longer that the public and our lawmakers cling to the perception that the AMA represents the voice of US physicians (and the AMA succeeds in perpetuating this), the more imperiled the medical profession will be and with it the broader US healthcare system. It’s time to turn to entities like Sermo where physicians are establishing a new voice to collectively discuss the future of our profession.
There can be no healthcare reforms that have any chance of succeeding without buy-in from physicians. As a country, we cannot risk another failed reform effort. As physicians, we cannot risk letting the AMA represent our interests. This is our time to educate the public about which voices truly represent us and our commitment to our patients.
Daniel Palestrant, MD
Founder & CEO
Sermo, Inc.
The follow on upper cut (From 7/2/9):
Dear Dr. Shreeve,
Yesterday I posted on Sermo about the need for a new voice to represent physicians. The Sermo community’s response was clear. 2,400+ physicians voting in less than 24 hours. 90% say that the AMA does not represent them. That is a bold statement and the general public will take note.
The need for physicians in this country to have a strong voice has never been greater. And Sermo, a community of well over 100,000 US Physicians, needs to make its voice heard. Yesterday’s posting was the beginning of a regular series that will make your voice heard on issues critical to our profession. Results from these postings will be publicized to the media.
Believe it or not, we are already making dramatic progress. I have been contacted by major media outlets who are interested in what physicians on Sermo have to say. Beginning next week our voice will be heard.
Add your voice to the first topic:
The Biggest Risk to US Physicians Today: The AMA
Sincerely,
Daniel Palestrant, MD
CEO & Founder
Sermo Inc.
I have commented about Sermo before (here and here). I think it can be a useful tool – the virtual lounge if you will – which I totally get. Some of the hallway conversations were useful, but I had other settings in which to engage to my clinical and personal satisfaction. And just like the real thing, I never felt comfortable hanging out in the posh lounge with slightly better food when all my patients, colleagues, and fellow health care workers were sent somewhere else. It is the same discomfort I feel on the rare occasions I have flown first class and sat uncomfortably watching all the “regular” people pass pass on the way to the back of the plane.
Obviously a Sermo style virtual lounge has alot of potential and possibilities. While some of my previous comments can be taken as somewhat down on the platform, I am generally very much in favor and supportive of what Sermo is doing. In fact, I believe the collective intelligence within the network is a wonderful place to harness the cognitive surplus of physicians. Moreover, online communities of experts who can share real medical knowledge in real time, discuss and comment in warp speed peer review, and allow a business commodity to be created from voyeurism certainly has earned my respect.
The breakthrough is not in the message nor even the messenger, it is the manner in which I am getting this message that is most impressive. 100,000 physicians strong (and growing), online and interactive, and now muscling up for the biggest fight of their life. Perhaps most useful of all, is the ability to aggregate the physician voice into a common unified message. My articles above highlight the role of aggregators, and this specific type of network effect grows in influence and power to the point of being a political force to reckon with. Perhaps the 100,000 member barrier represents the political tipping point to take on the slothful big brother?
Should be interesting to follow – looking forward to seeing if the new kingpin has the staying power to dislodge the king. Looks like he has certainly swiped the scepter.